Opening Statement:
"First, I'd like to start off just like I told our football players: I'm proud of the way they played. I'm proud of the way we started, but the proudest thing I was, was running out on the football field and seeing all those dads lining the field, seeing the 1953 and '63 teams there for this football program and that's what it's about. It's about playing for your dad and it's about (being) lucky enough to get to see my son play and it's about playing for the tradition. The '53 and '63 teams came back last night and got to speak to the football team. So we're happy with the way we played. There's definitely plenty of things we can get better at, as all coaches say, but I'm very happy with the way that we have responded after the open week."

Discussing the team's confidence:
"That was a challenge. You need to continue to build the program and we talked about coming out fast in this football game and doing what we felt was necessary, and there were great touchdowns and there were great runs and great tackles, but it was the lead-up plays to me again. Steve Hull catches third-and-long and Reilly O'Toole's long run there at the end of the football game on 3rd-and-18 that sometimes they'll get talked about, and those are the plays that this team is making and that's what you see as being so successful and winning football games for us because we're making those plays."

Talk about the roles the tight ends have played this year:
"I think they're huge. They've done an outstanding job. I think Matt LaCosse had probably his career day, but there's going to be many more. Evan (Wilson) had an outstanding catch. Thank goodness he's 6'7". He got up and I thought he was going to hit his head on the upright, he got up so high. So I'm happy to see that. He's a big target - I think I might even have completed that one - but (I'm) happy the way our tight ends played. I think Tyler White is going to be a factor for us as we continue on through the Big Ten."

Discussing Nathan Scheelhaase:
"I can't say enough what Nate Scheelhaase has done and it's not just about throwing touchdown passes. It's about coming in on Mondays (and) over-studying so he can have the best opportunities to be successful. Sitting with Coach (Bill) Cubit and coming up with a plan that we know that we can get adjusted on the football field through Nate. And I think that Nate's really buying into this system and you can see the way that he's been playing, and he grasps it and he loves doing this."

Discussing the depth on the team with more players playing today:
"Still young. Still got 80 freshmen and sophomores, but we got them in the football game and that's what it's about. It's about these players getting the opportunity to get in games and play for us because they're going to have to, and that's just part of this program."

Discussing Aaron Bailey and Reilly O'Toole playing more today:
"I thought they did a good job. There's no question about it. I thought Reilly ran our offense the way that we wanted him to and take up a little bit of time in that fourth quarter. Aaron came out and did some things, too. It's really the first time that they got to experience more of a out-in-the-field offense instead of the third down or goal line offense, so I thought they both did well.

Illinois RB Josh Ferguson

On offensive coordinator Bill Cubit:
"He's changed the culture of our offense in the past year he's been here. He's a genius. He puts us all in the best positions for every single person. The quarterback is playing well, I'm playing well, the running backs are playing well - as well as the wide receivers and tight ends. We're just excited to be under his guidance."

On his touchdown catch in the second quarter:
"It was a quick little screen. Slipped out a tight end to block, got around the block, and I knew it was just me and that one guy. I just gave him something. Honestly, I didn't think about what I was doing. I just kind of did it and I got by him. It was awesome."

On what the offense will have to do next week at Nebraska:
"We're going to go up there and give them a fight. It's Big Ten play so we're going to give it our all. We will be prepared."

Illinois LB Jonathan Brown

On how much the defense wanted the shut out:
"Man we wanted it. We worked for it, but I still think we improved in the things we need to improve on. So I'm not too mad, but we wanted that shutout."

On the defense's performance today:
"We played our best game. We definitely made some mistakes, but we improved on things from last week, which was tackling. I thought our tackling got a whole lot better. Now we're just focused on getting to Nebraska."

Illinois QB Nathan Scheelhaase

On his touchdown pass to Evan Wilson in the second quarter:
"It was a great play by him. Really, they kind of schemed it up well and it was probably the best defense they could've designed for it. But Coach Cubit said all week when we had that play, `really their best case scenario should still be a jump ball with Evan and one of their defensive backs.' We got a guy that's 6-7, able to go up and jump and get the ball like that. That's a big play for him."

On the importance of Josh Ferguson to this offense:
"Yeah he's playing great. I think he is doing a lot for us in the running game, the pass game. He's another guy - you can move him around. You can do a lot with him. He presents a lot of threats with what he is able to do. It helps our whole offense out, because I think the defense really has to pay attention to where he is at all times."

On what clicked after the first quarter:
"I think really it could've been a better first quarter had I put the ball where the receivers needed on that second series. But I think the guys came out ready to roll and that's what we need as an offense. We talked about starting fast and getting things going. I think we really saw that today. Like I said, the only series I think we didn't really play up to par was when I just missed two throws. Guys were running wide open. So that's great to see from our offense."

Miami (Ohio) Quotes

Head Coach Don Treadwell

Opening statement:
"I think in the second half, our guys settled in a little bit, played a little bit more like what we're capable of playing. Certainly on the offensive side, we moved the ball a little better in that regard, so those are things you continue to build on. At the end of the day, you're coming into a Big Ten stadium, playing a legitimate Big Ten team who has a tremendous amount of talent. They made a lot of plays and we did not, and we give them credit for that."

On Illinois' offense:
"Coach Cubit does a tremendous job, I've known him for a long time, obviously, coming from the MAC. They present a lot of things formationally, scheme-wise, and then on top of that, they have great athletes - in my opinion - across the board. There are so many weapons; they made big play after big play early in the first half."

On Miami using two quarterbacks:
"I think No. 1, both quarterbacks and the team know that they're both playing coming into the game. One of the teams we saw earlier do that with success is Kentucky against us. Because those young men complement one another with certain skills they bring to the table, that was the game plan all along."

TE Steve Marck

On Miami's two-quarterback system:
"When we have them in there, they each have their strengths. Gearing is probably more of the runner, Austin (Boucher) is more of the thrower. They each bring something to the game and it doesn't really affect us as far as who's in there. We practice all week with both of them so it wasn't a surprise for us today."

How do you feel about the game and what can you take away from it?
"We're disappointed. It doesn't matter who you're playing, you always want to come out with a `W.' We got off to a really slow start today on both sides of the ball, which is inexcusable. But in the second half, I thought we did some good things. Their starters were in there until the fourth quarter, so there's a silver lining there. Heading into MAC play, we need to continue that second-half effort to get this thing going. We're 0-4 right now with eight games left and we're going to have to turn it up in MAC play if we want to make something of this season."